This chapter is unedited. Definitely a fave to write. Trigger warning: mentions of suicidal ideation.
It had been two weeks Gojo was freeloading. He hardly slept, playing little phone games, and openly searching through her belongings. He did clean up after himself and cook so far.
He left a toothbrush in her bathroom. And used her shampoo. He was getting a bit too comfortable. Though, she could play this game forever. Because she grew up with an older sister. She could be on stalemate forever, so it was up to him to break.
Gojo decided not to follow her to work for a day, to give her a break from it. She was visibly nervous when he watched her work, it had poorer outcomes on her clients, and she explained that every time. He considered giving up on seeing and understanding the Blessed users' ways. Just as he resolved to reach for the white flag, He stepped out the apartment building, meeting eyes with the wily mother. She looked different. She was dressed in flashy jewelry, and overdone makeup. A look of acceptance came across her.
"So you two decided on fate then? Dating now?" Her eyes flooded with hope. Just as Gojo was about to say something of a refusal, she pulled out a cake from her oversized tote bag, "I was coming by for a surprise visit, Reina told me about the red string, and how she hid it, but I guess she is a child of the Gods, such as yourself, so... Oh, you were leaving, I mustn't keep you. I have a key so I'll just drop this cake off!"
"You know, I was actually just off on an errand to buy a cake, you beat me to it. Let's share some of this cake together. Mis- uh, Reina will be home soon."
"Ah yes, but she does have a penchant for overtime, hopefully she doesn't take any tonight."
Gojo opened the door for her, disconcerted over the fate-speak Kira was going on about.
"By the way, I'm so sorry over how I acted when you wanted to find out more about that incident when the girls were little. I didn't know you were Gojo Satoru at the time, just another curse user. I really don't like curse users." She kept going on, "but I suppose the divide between cursed and blessed energy users does have to close."
He had no idea what she was going on about- A red string of fate and bringing together the cursed and blessed energy users? What about Reina and Gojo dating? However, he knew if he went along, it would finally lead to answers. "Yes, absolutely."
They chatted over a slice of cake. Gojo made tea, told engaging, charming stories to keep her there longer. Though she talked more than him- a remarkable feat. He coaxed out more from her with sweet nothings. This was different from the Kira he initially met.
The lock turned, and Kira jolted up, in great spirits to see her daughter.
"Reina! You should've told me you accepted the string!"
Reina grimaced, and shrunk into the door, "what?"
Gojo lifted his thumb, fully acknowledging the stubborn string. He was in awe to see it, so clearly connected to her pinky. He tried removing it himself.
"Mom... you never leave the countryside. Is everything okay?" She noticed Kira's smiling, makeup caked face juxtaposing the deep-set eyebags, Reina grabbed Kira's face to look closer, "when's the last time you slept?"
"Who needs sleep? I feel so good! I'm taking my meds, don't worry!" She pulled out a bottle of pills from her purse, half empty.
Reina recalled her mother like this once before twelve years ago, before she understood anything about mental illness, "mom, let's go see the doctor, I think you're having a manic episode."
At that moment, Gojo was confused, delighted, and felt like a manipulative piece of shit.
"No, I don't need a doctor, I feel great, let's have some cake!" She protested, grabbing a forkful of cake and shoving it in Reina's mouth. Reina chewed on the cake, giving it a thumbs up to her mother's delight.
Kira turned around to sit back on the stool, when suddenly, it went black. Reina knocked her unconscious with her cursed technique.
She crouched down and caressed Kira's hair, "I'm sorry Mom. I'm worried about your lithium levels so please understand."
Reina called the respective emergency responders and explained the situation. They promised to give her a call when the doctor's assessed Kira.
"Reina, can I do anything?"
"The best thing to do right now is nothing."
The two ended up at the hospital, Gojo waited outside, slumped on a bench. The self-appointed mission continued to get all the more depressing.
Reina stepped out of the mental health ward. It was just as she suspected, her mother's medication levels were well below therapeutic levels. She found Gojo easily, tapped him on the shoulder, and sat beside him. She had another jolt of his cursed energy's inner workings, and scowled, remembering why it was a bad idea to touch Gojo.
She clicked her tongue, "cat's out of the bag, what do you wanna know about Priests?"
"Well, Kira explained most of what I wanted to know, and the hilarious child free movement."
"Yeah, we're pretty pathetic in that way."
"Why hide the string?"
"I wanted to live on my terms, not roped-up with some overpowered sorcerer." She looked at the string on her pinky, "this thing does nothing, I feel nothing towards you." Ouch.
That was a bit of a lie, she was in denial. Somehow, Gojo knew this.
"Well I guess it means we gotta stay alive for the next little bit to fulfill this thing. In the meantime, I want to see a purification ritual, and then I promise I'll be out of your hair. The Jujutsu world will never know about this, I swear."
She sat in silence for a bit, calculating just how to show him, "...okay," she murmured. "But you'll have to pay for the cab, the booze, and hold my hair over the toilet. We'll do it now."
"What about your mom?"
"Mieko knows what to do. And they'll keep her there for a few days the very least."
"Okay."
...
They picked a random stop on the train, somewhere where they agreed had a decent cursed presence.
Then began a game of Eye Spy. Reina made eye contact with spirits and they soon followed, as though possessed.
Gojo had a hard time believing what he saw.
Soon they had a crowd of cursed beings in a trance, following them.
"I've gathered a particularly large crowd, so if it goes haywire, I trust you'll step in."
"Of course."
Then the club, a new place to her. She sniffed around for any other sorcerers or curse users, and asked Gojo for a double check.
Coast was clear.
The curses piled onto the dance floor, motionless. People walked through them, unaware of their presence.
"Bartender!" Reina called, "I need 5 shots!"
The bartender, confused, but doing his job poured the shots in a clean line. Reina woofed them down.
She banged a fist on the counter twice, making a face in disgust from the alcohol, "another five."
Gojo, being a lightweight was a bit in awe of the situation in front of him. This little woman was able to hold more liquor in one night than he ever could in a lifetime.
Reina, alcohol not yet settled, sauntered over to the DJ, and made a song request. She took off her jacket and threw it toward Gojo. He caught it with ease.
Instinctively, people cleared a path for the woman, clearly on a mission to dance. Her expression said it all. The spirits joined her in the middle of the floor.
The song started.
Reina danced her little heart out, thinking about how life was soon going to change, and how she had no control over it.
She spread granules of Crystalised blessed energy, something Gojo could finally visualise. He could only describe it as glowing pieces of pure life. He tried picking one up, but it burned. He assumed these pieces tried to purify him on contact.
Reina's dancing was a spectacle to behold. Elegant twirls, leg lifts, jumps, footsteps, with sexy sways of her body beheld Gojo. The crowd wasn't able to visualise the waves of blessed energy coming from her limbs, tracing her every move.
The song came to an end and Reina carved out a final move.
The crowd cheered as she did a little drunken curtsy.
Gojo watched the spirits appear calm, and forgiven, as they dissipated into what seemed like flecks of glittering sunshine. The flecks fell into the crowd, they couldn't see it, but the room immediately felt lighter. Gojo held out his hand to feel the flecks melt into his skin, like a child experiencing their first snowfall.
Beautiful.
Reina stumbled to the bar, tears welled up in her eyes. There was a forlorn expression on her face. She asked the bartender for another round of shots. Gojo quickly followed her to comment, but was struck by her shaken, drunken appearance.
"It- whyyy the caut-?" She started bawling.
Gojo's first instinct was to cover her shoulders with her jacket and hold her.
"It hur-s s'much!" She slurred, her face relaxed, now almost in a daze, only to snap back to the sound of glass hitting the counter. She downed the shots.
"More!" She cried out.
The bartender looked over to Gojo who gave him an insistent nod. The bartender obliged, giving Reina her much needed alcohol.
She was near blackout, unable to stand. Gojo piggy-backed the woman now in a true drunken stupor. She swayed her head, babbling on. Everything coming out of her was incoherent. Yet the things she said still somehow felt disturbing.
He hailed a taxi, threw her in, and joined her in the cab.
There were myriads of questions he wanted to ask based on what he observed. How could she subdue those curses and have them follow her? What was that crystallized substance? Why did she need to drink? Why was she so upset?
Gojo held her from his side, instinctively stroking her hair as she rested on his shoulder. He felt his shirt dampen from tears welling and rolling out from her.
He carried her out of the cab, bridal style. Though her head hung limp, making it far less than a romantic affair.
He removed her shoes, uncomfortable with removing much else, and tucked her in. Then she murmured something to the effect of don't go.
He looked at the string, trying to calculate his next move without it. He placed a bucket next to the bed and tried his best to remove her clothes, placing a sheet over top as to not see anything as he felt for the hems and seams.
She was slightly more conscious and held up her arms to help him. As he brushed over her breasts to get to her other sleeve, she gagged.
He grabbed the bucket and held her hair, as promised.
Quiet sobs erupted from her. She was still very inebriated, he wiped anything remaining from her lips with a towel and lied next to her, holding her half naked body over a sheet.
Her cursed energy surged at that moment.
Was she able to absorb curses like Geto?
No.
It was her own, as though aggravated.
Her half-lidded, somber, drunken eyes finally closed shut, leaving a more peaceful sleeping face. The cursed energy backed down, and the blessed energy that he could now sense, though poorly, appeared to balance out.
He didn't want to leave her in her pants and bra. So he carefully removed the garments, while keeping the sheet over top as to not expose her to his eyes. He found an oversized tee, and put it on her near naked body, protected by a sheet.
Gojo had seen a fair share of women. Willing. Not passed out.
She stirred again, after he maneuvered the night shirt on. She appeared distressed once more. He held her gently. With enough freedom for if she needed to wriggle free, she could.
What he didn't expect was her pressing her head on his chest, and bringing her arm under his. Their legs tangled.
The smell of booze emanating from her prevented him from falling fully asleep. But, at one point for maybe a millisecond, these two peacefully slept in the same bed in each other's arms.
...
Reina woke up to an empty bed, the sound of sizzling filled the apartment. Reina peered through her doorway, catching a glimpse of Gojo's side profile.
The sight of Gojo with his eyes uncovered was a little bit of a surprise.
"Do you want breakfast?" He asked across the room.
Of course he had incredible senses.
"I'll eat in a bit," she replied, in a sudden flustered rush to get dressed. She slipped on some shoes and a coat, leaving the apartment. "I'll be back soon!"
"Have fun! I can't guarantee there will be any left for you!"
She left halfway through his sentence.
Reina rushed back in with a bouquet of blue and white flowers. She rummaged through her cupboards to find a vase. In her own spell, she rearranged the flowers to make a balanced bouquet. She placed each stem one by one, a flat, complacence washed over her.
Reina filled the vase with the last stem. Then she kneeled in front of the vase and bowed her head, silent. Gojo thought the whole thing peculiar.
She sighed and rested her head on the table in front of the vase. She moved her forearms to pad her forehead and turned to Gojo.
"Is there any breakfast left?"
A bewildered Gojo snapped out of it, nodded and placed a few eggs on a plate.
"They're a bit cool now but, here you go! What are are the flowers for anyway?"
She looked over at Gojo, as though through him, and murmured, "my own selfish goodbye."
"For the curses you purified?"
"Yes. It makes things easier."
"What things?"
"Mom didn't tell you?"
"About?"
"When a priest purifies a curse, they see the circumstances that brought upon the curse. They feel it, they relive whole lives of pain within split seconds in their minds. It stays with them forever, like a life they never lived. When I drink, I can forget most of it. What I do remember- I make a little wake."
So that's what Tengen meant by constitution...
"I've seen these at funerals before."
"Yes. It was my therapist's idea."
"Ah! It explains all the pill bottles in your bathroom cabinet!"
"Yeah, they're last resorts."
"So your mom then?"
"She's had her illness since she was a teenager, she's refrained from priest activity unless in emergencies. My sister and I... we don't have anything... yet." Reina remarked sombrely.
She gulped down her remaining eggs, "I'm gonna take a shower!"
...
Gojo lazily sprawled on the sofa bed, patting his full belly. He idly played a game on his phone, thinking about the sudden peace appearing around Reina after the ritual. He glanced over to the vase of flowers. Despite them being cuttings, they seemed to thrive.
It seemed as though everything around Reina thrived. Except for Reina herself.
Reina stepped out the bathroom in a bathrobe, grabbing a glass of water. Gojo sat up onto the edge of the bed.
"You incur psychological trauma from purification by taking in the curse's origin. No wonder you look so worn," despite this, Gojo couldn't help but feel respect and admiration for the woman before him. Her strength and constitution far exceeded his own.
"So you understand now.." Reina placed a shaking hand on her inner windowsill, opening the window to feel the breeze, "the gods gave you a terrible partner. A partner who has losing regard for her life, ready to jump," she held back tears.
"You do everything I want to do. You see what I cannot. You feel what I cannot. I thrive- but the consequences are a trail of destruction. You wither away to bring about so much life. I don't know how or what this string intends, perhaps we can unify cursed and blessed users to ensure a fairer, stronger society."
"Gojo, I am certain I'll slip through your fingers, but in a way that you'll never find me again. Being a Priestess... it's like a curse in itself. I'm sure being you isn't great either, carrying the sorcerers on your back. But we fight for completely different things. We live for different things. I have no clue why or how we were tied like this. It must be a cruel joke."
Gojo watched her play with the belt on her bathrobe.
"I wanted a curse free world. Everyone thinks I can eliminate them all, but that would spell the end for humanity. So I kept searching. As sorcerers grow stronger, it's natural we question things. The special grade sorcerers, all of them- deal with a sort of existentialism that involves rejecting who they are and what they stand for."
She scoffed, "do you think my abilities will solve your existentialism?"
He chuckled, "No, but I think I learned something, that curses are necessary for life to continue. But there aren't enough people out there to hear their pleas," Gojo looked over to the bouquet on her table of sweet peas, mums, and bluebells, "that's why I teach, I'm trying to find more people to take on curses themselves, without relying on me. But I didn't realise curses were part of a crucial balance. Killing curses will only produce more in the end. My Six Eyes technique only sees all the Jujutsu world wants to see. For the longest time, I thought the Jujutsu world covered it all. I was ignorant."
She relaxed a little, he really did get it.
"Reina, my eyes have adapted to seeing your soul in all its colors. It's overwhelmingly beautiful, and soothing, your blessed energy. Thank you for letting me be witness," he continued, she looked away, to avoid showing the tear that managed to come out.
He continued, "Your soul is strong, I think your very core will keep you here despite your desires to end your life."
Gojo hadn't been this honest and this relenting towards anybody in ages. He hid behind that clown front, keeping everyone on their toes. Somehow, watching her react to his honesty and the natural kindness he felt towards her had the same, if not better effect than pulling the joker card.
She could feel her face warm up. Tensing up again, she felt... naked around him all the sudden, "I'm gonna get changed, leave if you want."
"Can I nap for a little while? I don't sleep much, and it feels soothing here."
His face was perfect, almost hard to believe he was older than her. No signs of ageing or exhaustion, "You don't sleep much?" she said in disbelief.
"If you're really concerned- come sleep next to me, there's nothing better than a freshly showered woman~" she threw a large stuffed bear at him.
"Cuddle with that."
Reina still didn't know what to make of Gojo.
I do need to fix some timelines, but I want to continue this fic, let me know what ya'll think!